The truth about a complex built for veterans and the middle class and how it has evolved through the years to become one of the more interesting and controversial of New York stories.

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Management has two priorities: 1) Making sure money is made, hence upgrading and filling up apartments is their goal. "Amenities" are important in selling the place, though few residents use them. 2) If someone needs medical attention, Public Safety will be there, if alerted.

Quality of life issues are not that important, however. Things like the carpet rule or outsider dogs. These "rules" tend to be ignored, on purpose it seems. So you will see a lot that isn't taken care of properly, and complaints will be met with a creative excuse and a smile.

"Peace and quiet" must be a cruel joke, though this property is sold that way. There can be no peace and quiet as ALL apartments must be upgraded, which includes the installation of an AC unit below the window. Aside from the continual construction about the neighborhood, there is a new and noisy subway extension being built along East 14 st and the shut down of the L line. "Choosing" to live in NYC, now the newest mantra, is a fabrication when the talk is of ST and PCV, which was traditionally quiet, with no construction noise.

Though money was always important, it is now more important than ever. Money rules many things, as you will find.

At this point, 30 years into living here and seeing many things, I can state that Management and their reps are BS-ing us. I can't say that loudly enough: We are being BS-ed. I don't see any genuine change, though the "selling" of this place is intense. Few of the "rules" will be enforced, as Management doesn't want to lose customers or potential customers. Where personal integrity is a hallmark of an excellent management style, this integrity is not seen in enforcing some of the rules.

About those "club cars" we see going this way and that way, and outside of Stuy Town or Peter Cooper Village:

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Come One, Come All

I think we need to admit that there is nothing that we, as residents, can do about the summer events that happen at the Oval. We are not the current custodians of ST/PCV. Because these events are free, they don't even need to be advertized for zoning purposes as "for residents and their guests." Indeed, there is ample evidence that the powers that be are publicizing these events to people outside this community, without using the disclaimer, in the hopes of attracting larger crowds than usually come to these gatherings meant, or so their representatives claim, for "our community."

There is probably a purpose to this madness of summer events advertized to all of NYC, and that is to make Stuyvesant Town seem like a happening place--in the words of the publicity, a place where "there is something always going on." These summer Stuy Town events, btw, were first set in motion by our previous lords and masters, Tishman Speyer.

Of course, producing and managing these events costs money, and the bigger the crowds the more cost involved and the less such events become places where Stuy Town neighbors can meet other neighbors, a congenial get-together that has also been stressed in Stuy Town publicity, this time to residents, as if neighbors can't meet other neighbors aside from the events planned here at Stuy Town.

It would probably be beneficial to stress that our current custodian, CWCapital, is most interested in selling this property for the highest price in a year or two, while showing that it's financially booming and an exciting, lucrative property to own. The company is investing in its holding, which is why you are seeing the new plantings (at a cost of $2 million!), the Oval Cafe, the summer events, and Lord knows what else coming down the line. So this is CWCapital's primary concern, and everything else is reduced to less of a concern.

Which gets us to the residents of this community. How "concerned" is CWCapital about us, the residents? Surely, chiefly as dollar signs, which is why long-time rent-stabilized tenants must be the bane of a company like CWCapital, or any enterprise that will own this place. Brutally speaking, a landlord of this complex just waits out the day when long-term RS tenants will die out, and no apartment succession happens, placing apartments quickly into market-rate category where the rent can be doubled, at the very least.

Yet, surprisingly, I've heard from people who are paying market-rate prices that even they, as the renters whose rent matters most in the eyes of the landlord, are being squeezed for even more come lease renewal time. Some, already stretched thin with high rents, can't afford the extra that's being asked of them, and they move out, to be replaced by an eager renter who wishes to make New York his or her home and finds it hard to find something suitable with the current tight rental market in Manhattan.

There is something uncomfortably merciless about all this, but I think it underlines a truth we may find unpleasant. Absent a "beneficent" dictator approach, landlords are not our friends. That's why we need laws and the upkeep of laws, that's why we need a tenant organization, and local politicians who will truly fight for (and I mean fight, not pay lip service to) tenant rights.

Meanwhile, it seems that CWCapital can do anything it wants with the Oval events, and who it lets into the complex to make use of these events. For residents and their guests. Or not.

47 comments:

CW, Rose, and the future owners of Stuy Town should take notice the tenants are not going to go down without a fight. A lot of the websites promoting their concerts and events to the public have been hit with a blitzkrieg of negative comments from tenants. Good luck trying to find vendors who want to walk into this firestorm where food trucks are run out by negative publicity and Lady Maya's track record is visible online for the whole world to see. Don't expect it to stop any time soon! Leave us and the Oval alone!

Any tenant who is disturbed by these concerts/free events and hasn't the guts to sue the landlord deserves what they get! Looks like you got garodnicked! Maybe you should write some more nasty notes on blogs that won't do shite, or you could get the TA to do something about it...LMAO

@July 17, 2012 5:38 PM So it's obvious to me that you're simply a shill for Rose, trying to stifle people from rightfully acting in their own behalf. I will tell you one more (and only one more) time that quality of life issues related to noise, zoning and other issues that violate the warrantee of habitability can be brought before both city agencies and the courts. This blind subservience to the local authority that you seem to have just doesn't have a basis in reality. If people here are pissed off enough to fight for their RIGHTS, then they certainly are free to do so.

Any tenant who is disturbed by these concerts/free events and hasn't the guts to sue the landlord deserves what they get! Looks like you got garodnicked! Maybe you should write some more nasty notes on blogs that won't do shite, or you could get the TA to do something about it...LMAO.>>>

For us...this is where we live. For the so-called current owners, STPVC is just a place to cash in. All of this is about what's going to happen after Roberts settles. CW, Rose, Brookfield, they're all working together and have their ideas about what the yuppies want. That's what this is about. They've just gone off the rails with these open concerts. Even the yuppies won't want the disgusting drunks pouring in. And the TA...it should just rename itself the Yuppy Association. Either that or the ACM (Association for the Confused and Misled.)

STR--are you starting to see why Lux Living hung up his blog? I think if you really didn't allow people to get this mean and nasty from the get-go, you'd actually have a more effective and enjoyable blog--one that raises issues and comes up with action plans, not just mean, snarky insults. I think you'd be happier too.

A lot of City Council members got their pockets lined today when they voted to give NYU (that rapidly spreading cancer in our midst) got mostly its own way with its expansion plans. Goodbye Greenwich Village. I suspect NYU is planning to metastasise more and more over here.

One hopes there is some sort of master plan with all these actions/events. I fail to see it, but so be it, I rarely use the Oval, the concerts don,t appeal to me. I brew my own coffee, pizza shops in every direction, finding another monkey may take some travel. Let the cafe run its course, hang tough and don't let them win.

You know something you make a good point about it being unstoppable. I've been leaving the apt when the concerts occur just so I don't have to deal with the noise. I'm changing my whole opinion. I really hope that Stuy Town gets filled with crowds so large that the 2 million dollars worth of plants are damaged, the lawn gets wrecked, and the complex gets extra dirty. Let CW deal with the madness, and if we don't like it we should just go somewhere else for a while.

The guy in the original post is right: we live in Manhattan. This isn't the suburbs. And it never will be what it was during the "golden years". So, we either need to find a way to buy this thing so we can control the future... or admit we don't have control here, and get ready for whatever the owner does. Threatening to sue at every single change isn't going to stop things for long--look how much change already happened!

"Time is money to these folks. They want to make a quick sale at top dollar. Every year they are delayed literally costs them hundreds of millions of dollars.

I don't know about you folks, but I am patient...."

Yes, delay is probably hurting CW and the debt holders they represent, but CW can't be here forever. They have only about another three years to deal with the property (there is a time limit to their arrangement). They're going to have to make a move soon.

In the meantime, they keep churning the apartments (a couple paying market rent in my building just moved elsewhere to a more expensive apartment because they thought this place was a dump), putting money into things like the ice skating rink, and new landscaping. That plan has at least a year to go. I was told by the contractor that one of the lawns will be redone possibly not for another year.

And I disagree that nothing can be done about all the intrusions being visited on us. If the TA fulfilled its organizational and leadership role, they could organize those of us who are willing to deal with these situations.

I am a music producer that lives here in Sunny Stuy Town and I really really feel bad for people who live in the oval young or old...these acts they chose are all horrible. Sorry guys. You should complain and try to get some free months rent or something. I've never been happier to live far away from that Oval.

I think the acts this year have been a considerable step up. I was passing by the recent Garland Jeffreys event and thought it good enough to actually go on the Oval Lawn and listen to the rest of the numbers he performed. I'm glad I had a chance to be awakened to his music. Last week's performer was also fine.

As I've stated on this blog in the past, I am not automatically against music events on the Oval; I just think there should be only a couple of them, perhaps one for each of the summer months, and that's it. And only for Stuy Town/PCV residents and their guests.

Plus consideration MUST be given to those who live around the Oval and who can't escape the sounds coming from it during a musical event. When I attend an Oval music event, I make the choice to be there, Oval residents do not.

You keep talking about how the TA could organize and stop some of these things that you are complaining about, but what you may not grasp is that most people here don't dislike at least some of the things you find offensive. Obviously, everything on a case-by-case basis, but seriously, have you given thought to the idea that the TA really is representing the interests of the majority of the residents here and your feelings may be the minority opinion?

Sounds like the Oval concerts are attracting a really classy bunch of people. Just the type Bloomberg is trying to attract to the City. I guess we're lucky they're coming here and not going to the free concerts in Central Park where such high class behavior as pooing till blood comes out of your butt is not exactly welcomed. We definitely lucked-out in attracting this classy bunch. Thank you Adam and Lady Maya. So good to see you raising the tone of the old homestead.

If I was ever going to check out any activity on the Oval (which I never have, but often meant to when time allowed), I am now totally put off by the posts on the Brooklyn Vegan blog. If we are going to be invaded by these nasty lowlifes, then my children and I will never go near the Oval. We live in PCV (which has its own issues of QOL reductions) and don't go near ST as we don't need to. Now we know what goes on there, we'll stay away! My wife has gone over and checked out the farmers market there once or twice and reported that it is not worth the schlep because the produce seemed inferior and overpriced. Why is Rose doing this? The joint complexes were really nice before all this nonsense started. We moved in in 2000 (before we had kids) and loved it. Now it has changed so much and become so ridiculously expensive that I doubt we will renew our lease again even though we love the spaciousness of our apartment. Stable families like us are being driven out by the landlord's insatiable greed and the desire to pack as many people into each unit as is humanly possible. I'd rather rent a nice, roomy apartment in one of the boroughs than a Black Hole of Calcutta in Manhattan. Rose, Bloomberg, Tishman Speyer, CW Cap are all the living embodiments of unrestrained greed and avarice and not a morally decent bone in their collective bodies.

"The Tenants Association is also outraged that, in addition to the safety findings, the volunteers found substantial evidence of alcohol, tobacco, and drug use in the stairwells as well as indications that people have been using stair landings to relieve themselves and their dogs."

The TA is outraged? Where have they been? This has been common knowledge for years and they never spoke out about it. Would have been funnier if they said they were "shocked!"

Anonymous said..."The Tenants Association is also outraged that, in addition to the safety findings, the volunteers found substantial evidence of alcohol, tobacco, and drug use in the stairwells as well as indications that people have been using stair landings to relieve themselves and their dogs."

The TA is outraged? Where have they been? This has been common knowledge for years and they never spoke out about it. Would have been funnier if they said they were "shocked!"

July 19, 2012 10:17 AM

Where have you been? Photos have been posted online for years, calls to Management have been made, BUT ROSE HAS REFUSED TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUE. How about reserving some of your outrage for them? A previous management group installed bar codes inside compactor chute doors and electronic checkpoints at entrances. Security guards regularly used to check these places to make sure they were OK. Lotta money spent and they haven't been used for years. No security checks, no maintenance.

How about some appreciation for the TA, which initiated the investigation, organized all the volunteers who took the time to go to every floor, open and shut both doors, and then collated the information so the TA could make a comprehensive complaint that would cover every building, including yours.

And yeah, I'm one of those volunteers, and I encourage you to walk both your stairwells to see what's doing. Then call the management office and make your complaint. Maybe if Rose heard directly from all of us, we'd get more action.

"How about some appreciation for the TA, which initiated the investigation, organized all the volunteers who took the time to go to every floor, open and shut both doors, and then collated the information so the TA could make a comprehensive complaint that would cover every building, including yours."

Should have been done years ago. Who was asleep at the TA? These are not new issues. They have been detailed here and on LL for so long it is a joke by now.

Only the action is new. They have squandered the last year or more working on their Quixotic secret bid to buy the place.

"You keep talking about how the TA could organize and stop some of these things that you are complaining about, but what you may not grasp is that most people here don't dislike at least some of the things you find offensive. Obviously, everything on a case-by-case basis, but seriously, have you given thought to the idea that the TA really is representing the interests of the majority of the residents here and your feelings may be the minority opinion?"

Then explain why less than 5% of the population are dues paying members of the TA. The reason the TA doesn't fight any of these QOL issues is that they don't want to get on CWC's bad side. They are in the tank with them so they wont hurt Brookfield's chances of getting chosen as buyers. No person, group or company is MORE RESPONSIBLE for the decrease in QOL in PCVST than the TA. As a result if CWC chooses Brookfield there will be years of litigation before any deal is done. Can you say collusion??

"No person, group or company is MORE RESPONSIBLE for the decrease in QOL in PCVST than the TA. As a result if CWC chooses Brookfield there will be years of litigation before any deal is done. Can you say collusion??"

"No person, group or company is MORE RESPONSIBLE for the decrease in QOL in PCVST than the TA."

The people responsible are MetLife and Jerry and Robbie Speyer. Once TS paid way more than the property was worth, it became impossible to maintain it properly. That, plus MetLife's telling them how many RS tenants could be expected to die in the near future and starting the harassment/eviction process. Even if tenants weren't too timid to demand that the property be kept up, it's clear that the rent roll isn't enough to maintain the property and service the debt.

I don't think anyone can hold the TA responsible for the demise of our community. That honor belongs to the slumlords.

That said, the TA has really done precious little about it. They have fallen short in the "activist" column. They didn't cause the problem but they really haven't done anything material to solve it, either. And don't forget to send in your check...

2:27 AM. You are absolutely right. MetLife is very culpable in this matter. They sold the Speyers a bridge and a yarn. They told them that half the RS tenants were here illegally and the other half had one foot in the grave and the other on a banana skin. The stupid Speyers did not do their homework, but jumped in, with dollar signs glittering in their cunning eyes and avarice drooling from their hound-from-hell jaws. Then reality dropped a shit bomb on them and they skulked away while MetLife gloated and counted the shekels. Meantime, we tenants (most of us not here illegally or ready to croak any time soon) are left with the aftermath. Combine that with the bandaid on the severed jugular "remedy" of cramming in as many students, transients and hotel guests as possible; seeing genuinely interested young professional well-intentioned market raters as cash cows to us and abuse so they can churn baby churn the apartments, and we are in the situation we are in. May the bondholders never get their money because they were complicit in this scheme of Madoff proportions that MetLife and Speyers tried and failed to pull off.

Has anyone had any luck negotiating their rent increase? My husband and I are about to be forced out by another 10% rent increase, when it's clear they are cutting deals for the 20-something's moving in. It's very upsetting and yet we feel like there is nothing we can do, other than move and and let some 22 year olds build walls and move in.

I have encountered parents that don't know what cauliflower is. GrowNYC has a big educational component, so teaching and connecting kids to the source of their food is a good thing. I think it's great!

Until There Is Silence No More

The Tenants Association and our councilman Dan Garodnick have mysteriously remained silent about a purported incident that occurred on July 12: the mugging by a group of individuals of someone right by Peter Cooper Village, along 20th Street.

The TA is basically done. Tenants can complain, but any action is negligible. The TA is effectively dead.

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"We'll be introducing a new process to identify registered dogs thus enabling Public Safety Officers to clearly approach offending dog owners. The registration will hang from the leash handle; clearly identifying the dog as registered.

"If the dog is not registered by May 1; a summons will be issued at the point of contact. If we learn the dog owner is not a resident, they will be escorted off the property."

Rick Hayduk, CEO and General Manager of PCVST. Letter to Barry Shapiro, February 2016.

STR here: I have been around since the inception of this dog policy and I have NEVER seen anyone escorted out of ST or PCV with their non-lanyard dog. But I have seen, many times, a dog owner from outside, and his/her dog, casually walking through ST or PCV.

THINKING of Renting in PCVST?

Read Yelp reviews to find out what it's like living here. Please note: All apartments are currently "rent-stabilized" but that doesn't prevent apartments from going up to 4K to 6K a month and even higher. How does this happen? Ask our politicians! Fact: Now less than half of the complex's apartments have the old rents and it's getting worse year by year--or better if you are the Real Estate Board of New York!

The Other Yelp Reviews

Yelp can be tricky and bounce reviews for a variety of reasons, like being a member and posting just one review. Very often, however, these reviews hold important truths about what's being reviewed. READ THESE TOO.

BICYCLES, MOPEDS, SCOOTERS, ETC.

Of course, "private property" but "public access" - whatever that means! And if a part of it is public access, do the rules of the city apply to our roads and sidewalks? Or does anything give because this complex is "private property"? Who comes here in case of a fire in one of our buildings? The Stuy Town Fire Brigade?

Hint: Look both ways if you are in the complex. Look on the ground, too!

61.03 Control of dogs and other animals to prevent nuisance. (a) A person who owns, possesses or controls a dog, cat or other animal shall not permit the animal to commit a nuisance on a sidewalk of any public place, on a floor, wall, stairway, sidewalk, lawn, garden or roof of any public or private premises used in common by the public, or on a fence, wall [or], stairway or entranceway of a building abutting on a public place

Banned & Oversize Dog Breeds in Stuy Town

Looks like there is some difficulty in enforcing the ban on certain dog breeds allowed inside Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village. Somehow pitbulls and pitbull mixes have been registered in STPCV and are allowed to be freely walked about the grounds! Registered dogs in the complex are max 50 pounds. Total, if there is more than one! More than two, it's illegal. It's going to get worse, and, face it, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village will never be like it once was.

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Read it and Weep

Current Value of ST/PCV

Was 5.4 Billion Dollars when Tishman Speyer bought the place.Became 1.7 Billion Dollars when Tishman Speyer left, with their tail between their legs. Of course, tenants now have to make up the loss.

Ex-landlord

Rob Speyer

1947 Stuy Town Plaque Honoring Met Life Chairman F.H. Ecker (Removed in 2002 and never seen again)

"... who with the vision of experience and the energy of youth conceived and brought into being this project, and others like it, that families of moderate means might live in health, comfort and dignity in park-like communities and that a pattern might be set of private enterprise productively devoted to public service."

I am writing on behalf of everyone at Tishman Speyer to express how honored we are to become part of your outstanding community. We are a business with deep roots in New York, a true love of our city and a great respect for the neighborhoods that make it special. We are committed to maintaining the unique character and environment that have made Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town such a wonderful place to live for so long. We look forward to providing you an extraordinary level of service and attentiveness that will be the source of pride and satisfaction for the entire community.

Neighborhood Recommendations

New to Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village? Here are some basic recommendations.

Best supermarket: Associated on 14th St. between 1st Ave. and Ave A. The cheapest prices, fantastic weekly sales, very affordable lunches; solid, responsive management, but earthy. Some of the young female cashiers have attitude to spare, though. May be too far for Peter Cooper residents.

Best gym: Don't waste your money on the Oval Fitness Gym. Instead go to the earthy but real Asser Levy Recreational Center, right above 23rd St on Asser Levy Place (near the FDR Drive). $75 for a year's membership; seniors are almost free. Contains seasonal indoor and outdoor swimming pools, ping-pong table, two pool tables. Called by some rich people who wouldn't get caught going there "the prison gym," and you know why.

A Stuy Town favorite is Lenz's on 20 St. between the 20 St. Loop. The way New York used to be. Be careful of unwanted "pepper" in your food, however. Lenz's got a B grade rating and was temporarily closed down due to an order from the Health Department. Bruno's on First Avenue is more upscale, with a greater selection of food items (higher-priced, too), but was closed down temporarily by the Health Department. Stuy Town's own cafe was closed, too! And not because of all the dogs that hover and piss outside.

Gracefully has two locations, but we prefer for its size the one on 1st Ave. Prices are high and reflect the new tenants that are currently renting Stuy Town and Peter Cooper apartments. ("Do you have a credit card?") We like Gracefully's lunch specials, which are somewhat affordable.

I priced the CVS on 1st Ave near 14st. The non-aerosol hairspray was 20 cents above CVS' own website price, and one of the highest in NY. (Yes, I have hair.) You can save at least a dollar or more buying at another place. So beware. Look around for a better deal on all your items.

I love warm Quaker Oats in the morning. Gristedes is not the place to get it, nor is Associated, though their price is less. Look around!

Macular Degeneration Support Group

If you are currently diagnosed with Macular Degeneration, the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary is offering a support group for you. Conveniently located next to the Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town apartment complex, our group offers the opportunity to share stories with other members, listen to expert guest speakers, and learn coping strategies to reduce stress. Our group runs on the first Wednesday of every month and we would enjoy seeing you there.
Please contact Baptiste Nicolas, Social Work Assistant at 212-979-4105 for further information and to see if this group is right for you!